Jason Aldean talks RodeoHouston, ringtones

Jason Aldean has kicked up an impressive amount of dust in less than five years.

The young-country buck has sold more than 3 million copies of his three studio discs and scored his first No. 1, Why, in 2005. A live DVD was also certified gold last year.

“I was just hoping it would crack the top 40 and that we would sell enough records for me to keep my deal and build on that,” Aldean says.

Most recently, Aldean has scored a trio of Billboard chart-toppers within eight months from current disc Wide Open. It’s a feat usually reserved for superstars such as Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. The new single Crazy Town seems poised to make it a quartet. He’s making his RodeoHouston debut March 6. (Good upper-level seats remain for the show.)

But Aldean seems most proud when he details one especially novel accomplishment: His Big Green Tractor was the first song by a country artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard all-genre Ringscan chart.

(Click the player to the right to hear Aldean discuss — and play — his own phone’s ringtones.)

“I’d be sitting at a restaurant or something and all of a sudden, I’d hear my song. It was just amazing how many people had that song on their phone. It was a trip,” he says.

Aldean’s encouraging, steady success can be partly attributed to his sound, which he describes as “kind of like Guns N’ Roses meets Hank Jr. And George Strait’s hangin’ around at the party, too.” (Aldean’s own iPod currently hold tunes from Alabama, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Paramore, Jay-Z and Rihanna.)

It’s a fitting phrase, and much of Aldean’s catalog (Amarillo Sky, Johnny Cash, She’s Country) is a fresh alternative to the pretty-boy sap and vague contemporary-Christian ideals that fill most country radio playlists. It’s made him a bright spot in a slumping industry, and one of the few new-ish male country acts to keep pace with Swift, Underwood and Lady Antebellum.

“The types of songs we do — some of them have been right down the middle, mainstream — but most of them have been a little off-the-wall,” Aldean says. “They’re a little more over-the-top than most country acts do.

“When you put it up against every other song that comes on the radio, it has a different sound. We’ve never been scared to try new things.”

The Georgia native — who once had dreams of playing major-league baseball — also attributes his success to establishing and identifying his fanbase early in his career and staying true to what first attracted them to his sound.

“We always consistently do things we feel represent what I do. We’ve never tried to go in a completely different direction,” Aldean says. “You’ve got to figure out what it is that sets you apart from everybody else. I think that’s just something we were able to lock in on.”

Aldean’s RodeoHouston show is his first major headlining appearance since — whoa! — 2007 at the Sam Houston Race Park. It will be his first time on the revolving Reliant Stadium stage, but he knows the importance of singing in front of (potentially) 70,000-plus fans.

“There are certain shows that as an artist you hear about. The Houston Rodeo is one of those shows,” he says.

“As long as it’s not like the Tilt-A-Whirl thing at Disney World — I’ll be hanging off the side of that thing puking.”

Individual RodeoHouston tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, at rodeohouston.com or by calling 800-726-1313. Prices range from $16-$300. Chute seats, located directly behind the bucking chutes, are $200-$300 and include food and drinks.

Wednesdays are designated as Value Days. A $10 ticket gets you into the show and a seat in the upper level of Reliant Stadium. Parking is only $5, and spend just $1 on carnival games and food bites. There will also be concession specials inside the stadium.

Season tickets are on sale and start at $302 (plus a $15 handling fee). Mini-season tickets are offered in two options. Each package includes nine performances and ranges from $132-$171. Seating is in the upper and loge levels. Option A includes Chesney, the Jonas Brothers, McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Gomez and Bieber; option B includes Paisley, Keith, Lady Antebellum,

the Black Eyed Peas and Brooks & Dunn.

For season ticket information, call 832-667-1080, visit the ticket windows on the second floor of Reliant Center or go to the RodeoHouston site. Season and mini-season tickets are not available at any other outlets.